Australian Parliament Honors Greek Worker

The House of Representatives and the Senate of the Australian state of Victoria recently honored a Greek-Australian citizen who had been working as an electrician for almost 50 years. Electrician Yiannis Tremoulas received a special parliamentary tribute for his 48 years of service at Victoria’s Parliament House.

Tremoulas started working at the parliament of Victoria when Prime Minister Sir Henry Bolte was in office, in the mid ’60s. During this time, he met eleven state Prime Ministers and hundreds of Ministers. When he eventually retired, he was one of the oldest employees in the Australian Parliament.

Tremoulas was born on the Greek island of Lesvos and traveled to Australia by boat. After training to become an electrician, he started working at the Parliament House where he met numerous significant politicians.

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Telmo Languiller noted: “Yiannis’ knowledge of the electrical system of Parliament is extremely valuable. Over the years, he has seen many changes to the building and to his duties.”

“Yiannis has an incredible eye for detail and is a craftsman who takes pride in his work. Yiannis has a big heart and genuine affection for his work and colleagues. On behalf of the Victorian Parliament and all of our colleagues, we wish him all the best and a happy retirement. I will particularly miss our very good yarns about football—the world game,” he added.

Meanwhile, Greek-Australian politician and Minister for Families, Children & Youth Affairs Jenny Mikakos tweeted: “Best wishes Yiannis Tremoulas retiring after 48 yrs service as #springst’s electrical engineer. Started under Bolte.”